Vehicles include an engine for producing a drive torque. A transmission is attached to the engine, and typically includes an input shaft that receives the drive torque from a crank shaft of the engine. The input shaft is coupled to an output shaft of the transmission through a gear train. The output shaft is coupled to and transfers the drive torque to a driveline, which includes one or more drive wheels, to drive the vehicle.
The transmission may include several different operating modes, such as but not limited to a forward drive mode and a rearward drive mode. The transmission may or may not include a neutral drive mode, which de-couples or disconnects the drive wheels from the input shaft. The neutral mode prevents torque from being transmitted between the engine and the drive wheels when the transmission is disposed in the neutral mode. However, if the transmission is not configured to include a neutral mode, then the engine and the drive wheels are constantly disposed in torque communication. When the transmission is configured without a neutral mode, then any torque spikes introduced into the system, such as at the drive wheels, are communicated through the transmission, and the components of the transmission must be designed to handle these possible torque spikes.